Artemisia
by WhimsyRhea
Summary: Katniss Cheveron is a young woman of the 1600's with a shunned practice. Katniss is a witch. What happens when an especially dashing messenger from the king comes and orders her to leave or be publicly executed? To avoid both, Katniss holds him as hostage. Will it always be cruelty and abuse for the man, or will something more meaningful blossom in both's hearts? M for dark themes.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games. Suzanne Collins does. This is called FANFiction. -.-**

**Author's Note:** Herro! :D Welcome to my first Hunger Games FanFiction story. Yup... I bet all stories start like that.

Anywho, I suppose this is a very unique plot... Alright, just plain weird. But I dreamed it up one day and I couldn't throw it away. So here it is. Katniss is a witch of the 1600's, and Cato is the messenger from the kingdom. Katniss will be a bit OOC and a little more quiet, but trust me. She's still the fiery KitKat we all know and love. ;3 You leaving a review would mean the world to me! I won't do the thing "review and I'll update", but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate your feedback. :)

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_Katniss~_

The young woman shuffled her feet and tapped her bony fingers on the wood table before her in anxiety. Her silver eyes glistened in uncertainty, fixated on a common crystal chipped into the basic form of a wolf.

_Should I...,_ she pondered, o_r should I not?_

With a shake of her head, she gave up on the complicated testing spell. Katniss, the lady's name, walked to her bookshelf on the wall farthest from the door, her leather laced-up boots that climbed up to her knees clicking.

She was a cat-like woman with a lithe gait and build, although her figure was stick-like and nearly curve less, quite frankly. But she lived alone, so what did it matter? She wore a silver pentagram necklace on a black string every day as a symbol of her practice. Katniss had a head of ebony tousled hair with traces of a deep chocolately brown. It was a complete contrast to her complexion of snow. The witch would be in a very adventurous mood to even _dare_ go outside. Everyone around, except beings of her practice, were hunting people like her down and publicly slaughtering them all. She wore a black dress with some deep, dull green etched in with an exquisite detail only magick could create.

Katniss stepped on a stool and pulled out a thick book with a cover of protective animal hide that was resting on the top shelf. But it wasn't dusty, as the woman used it like a dictionary of spells.

It truly was the Book of Shadows belonging to Nazette Cheveron, an ancestor of hers that was executed mercilessly. She was planned to be hanged, but miraculously escaped in a way that is unknown as to fact, but people tell her story in a number of different ways. But what everyone knew was that she was later beaten and forced into the raging flames of a bonfire.

She stepped off and Katniss strode over to take a seat on her bed. It creaked at the sudden weight, even if she was quite petite. The witch opened the book to the opening page.

_The Wiccan Rede~  
Bide within the Law you must, in perfect Love and perfect Trust._  
_Live you must and let to live, fairly take and fairly give. _

_For tread the Circle thrice about to keep unwelcome spirits out._  
_To bind the spell well every time, let the spell be said in rhyme. _

_Light of eye and soft of touch, speak you little, listen much._  
_Honor the Old Ones in deed and name,_  
_let love and light be our guides again. _

_Deosil go by the waxing moon, chanting out the joyful tune._  
_Widdershins go when the moon doth wane,_  
_and the werewolf howls by the dread wolfsbane. _

_When the Lady's moon is new, kiss the hand to Her times two._  
_When the moon rides at Her peak then your heart's desire seek. _

_Heed the North winds mighty gale, lock the door and trim the sail._  
_When the Wind blows from the East, expect the new and set the feast. _

_When the wind comes from the South, love will kiss you on the mouth._  
_When the wind whispers from the West, all hearts will find peace and rest. _

_Nine woods in the Cauldron go, burn them fast and burn them slow._  
_Birch in the fire goes to represent what the Lady knows. _

_Oak in the forest towers with might, in the fire it brings the God's_  
_insight. Rowan is a tree of power causing life and magick to flower. _

_Willows at the waterside stand ready to help us to the Summerland._  
_Hawthorn is burned to purify and to draw faerie to your eye. _

_Hazel-the tree of wisdom and learning adds its strength to the bright fire burning._  
_White are the flowers of Apple tree that brings us fruits of fertility. _

_Grapes grow upon the vine giving us both joy and wine._  
_Fir does mark the evergreen to represent immortality seen. _

_Elder is the Lady's tree burn it not or cursed you'll be._  
_Four times the Major Sabbats mark in the light and in the dark. _

_As the old year starts to wane the new begins, it's now Samhain._  
_When the time for Imbolc shows watch for flowers through the snows. _

_When the wheel begins to turn soon the Beltane fires will burn._  
_As the wheel turns to Lamas night power is brought to magick rite. _

_Four times the Minor Sabbats fall use the Sun to mark them all._  
_When the wheel has turned to Yule light the log the Horned One rules. _

_In the spring, when night equals day time for Ostara to come our way._  
_When the Sun has reached it's height time for Oak and Holly to fight. _

_Harvesting comes to one and all when the Autumn Equinox does fall._  
_Heed the flower, bush, and tree by the Lady blessed you'll be. _

_Where the rippling waters go cast a stone, the truth you'll know._  
_When you have and hold a need, harken not to others greed. _

_With a fool no season spend or be counted as his friend._  
_Merry Meet and Merry Part bright the cheeks and warm the heart. _

_Mind the Three-fold Laws you should three times bad and three times good._  
_When misfortune is enow wear the star upon your brow. _

_Be true in love this you must do unless your love is false to you. _

_An Ye Harm None, Do What Ye Will_

_Merry meet, Foreigner._

_I see you have uncovered the dearest book to my heart. If you are reading this, I've been sentenced by now, maybe even excecuted. But fret not. As long as people still think of me, I'm as alive as any person walking on two feet.  
I've planned out everything to assure my soul that I won't be dead in a_ long_ time. As a witch, I commit to the knowledge that I will almost certainly be caught, captured, and murdered savagely by cold-blooded creatures who are self-proclaimed pure souls. I've prepared an extravagantly defiant act for the time of my capture, sure to keep people thinking and talking about me. But I can't tell you that. It'll... Spoil the surprise._

_Continue if you are one of my practice. If not... Know that I am watching you and won't let that happen._

_Blessed be,_

_Nazette Cheveron_

Katniss released the breath she seemed to have been holding for an eternity. A shudder shot up her spine. Nazette's intro was the most chilling part of the whole Book of Shadows.

Her finger slid around to flip the page hurriedly. There it was, written in lacy ink with a hand of expertise, the first spell. It was simple, for good fortune. Katniss' brows rose in interest, but she set the open book on the table and began lighting her lanterns about the house as the sun began its decent behind the horizon.

She turned around and walked to a cupboard with various foods inside. Katniss pulled out your average bread biscuit the size of her fist and began munching away.

She began to turn towards a chair, but the witch's body froze in place. Her biscuit fell to the floor as she heard the crunching of boots in the grass right outside. The door swung open abruptly and Katniss whirled around with the furious expression of a crazed animal.

_Shit... I need a lock, _she thought to herself in horror.

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**Author's Note:** Woot, woot! There it is. :3 Thanks in advance for feedback.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: **Thanks for a positive response, everyone! :D I have a three-day-weekend, so I have all the time I need to flop in my computer chair and type up a story for you all. ;) I'm trying to slow down, chill and take my time on this… But it's just so fun to write!

For those wondering, Katniss' religion is not a fairytale. It's a real practice called Wicca, and I myself am a Wiccan (of course it's changed through the centuries). So I thought that I should keep this up and share my knowledge with you all, as Wicca is a fascinating practice! Also, the 'shit… I need a lock' part was just for a bit of humor. They probably wouldn't actually say that. Very vulgar. XD

One more thing: Christians are a bit demonized in this story. I, personally, think you guys are wonderful people! :) But looking at it from a historical witch's perspective, Christians are their dire enemies, because of all the witch hunts. Wouldn't you hate and fear someone out to kill you? So please don't start a religious war in the reviews. Try to keep an open mind. :3

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Her brows furrowed and she clenched her fist. Katniss swiped her tongue over her teeth, her mouth dry from anxiety. One heartbeat felt like a millennium.

The foreign man stood in the doorway, frozen in uncertainty. It almost comforted the witch knowing this brute was as scared as she. He had golden hair that looked windblown and tousled in an attractive way. Deep blue eyes the shade of lapis with flecks of dull brown towards the pupils that twinkled with hesitantly lethal curiosity. Tanned skin from hours in the sun. Chiseled muscles that gleamed with sweat from the journey to Katniss' little cottage. He wore a simple scarlet tunic, leather boots, and loose brown pants. A golden pin bearing a serpent lacing its lanky body around the rimming circle was over his heart, as a symbol of where he came from. The word handsome wasn't applicable to describe _this_ man.

Katniss' intuition told her otherwise when it came to his soul. She could sense the darkness. The insecurity. The hate for her people.

Blood pounded in her ears. Instinct told her to kill. Her hands drifted on the worn table top until she could feel her fingertips meet a cool metal. Katniss' silver gaze flinched from the masculine figure before her only once to make sure she gripped the blade properly.

This 'blade' was much more than that. It was an athame, or a ritualistic knife. Using it as a weapon or cutting any flesh, even of food, would ruin its purity. Katniss would have to carve a new athame if she wished to use the blade now to defend herself.

_Fine, then. Guess I have to,_ she thought as the intruder stepped inside, forgetting to shut the door behind himself.

"Don't even think about it," the foreigner's voice was slick and well-played. "Trying to hurt _me_ is useless."

Her fiery eyes narrowed and a hiss slipped out between her lips without thinking. "Excellent liar you are, hm?"

"I only speak the truth."

Katniss clenched her teeth, the snarky battle of wit tiring her mind. With a slight shake of her head, she cut to the chase. "What do you want here? All I have is stale bread," she spat venomously.

An eyebrow of his rose in amusement, the side of his mouth curling in a smirk. "King Cornelius Snow of Panem sent me here." He paused as his gaze drifted about the house, fright flickering in his blue orbs. She supposed it would be a bit… creepy… to people not of the Craft. His eyes then landed on her pentagram necklace. "Look, I know what you are."

She flinched from him not saying 'who', but instead 'what.' People seemed to forget that witches were just people. They weren't immortal creatures of any kind. Witches just held knowledge that commoners did not.

"And I know what you do."

Katniss glowered with distaste. _No, you don't, _she thought to herself. _You ignorant bastard… You know nothing; I repeat _nothing;_ about me or what I do._ But she wouldn't dare say anything like that. Although her words were defiant, she knew there was no way she could defeat someone of his stature. Unless…

_No. The Wiccan Rede is _all about_ not using magick to another's disadvantage._

"Look, I'm risking my life right here, right now, just meddling with you and your demons-"

"Demons?! Turn around and look in the mirror, you hypocritical Christian!" she hissed, her voice beginning to rise. Her muscles tensed and her arm instinctively held up the athame in threat.

The man was beginning to lose his patience and his anger was boiling, she could tell. He bit his lip in aggravation, fingers curling like claws. "_Anyways-_ Look. You have two choices. You can leave and take your fucking magick with you, or stay. But if you stay, we're gonna track you down, you know. You're scheduled for a hanging. There's a bounty hunt in the kingdom that everyone's talking about. People are even betting on who will get you first."

Katniss' eyes narrowed, not in anger, but in realization. It's bad enough that one person wants her dead. But a whole kingdom? The witch has certainly _despised_ a select few of people in her life, but not enough to hurt them in any way, shape, or form.

The man continued. "But King Cornelius is feeling kind, and we'll wait for you to leave. So start packing your things now or I'll just head back and tell them all that you're staying right where you are." He folded his arms stubbornly, shifting his weight onto one side of his him and tapping his right foot of the wooden floorboards impatiently. "Which one do you choose?"

The young woman gulped nervously, but her mouth was so dry from anxiety that nothing slid down her throat. She looked at her feet, and then back up. Silver met blue.

"Neither."

His face was skewed with silent questions, but she lashed out at him before a word could slip out between those thin lips. Katniss jabbed a knife with an untrained and clumsy thrust into his shoulder, but the messenger threw her off before it was a flesh wound. A sliver of skin chipped off and the scarlet blood dripped delicately down the side of his well-muscled forearm. A grunt of frustration emanated, the first verbal sign of anger he had during his time here. The lady was thrown back, the man's shove stronger than he had originally intended. Katniss let out a furious screech as her spine hit the wall, her features disfigured from pain.

The athame hit the floor with an echoing clatter.

_I've disobeyed my God and Goddess,_ the witch's thoughts suddenly pushed through the clouds of fury. Her fiery gaze faltered to the ground, which soon met with thick metal shackles lying on the floor she usually used for carrying large animal carcasses for proper ritualistic burial. But that day they would have to be used for a different purpose. Katniss slithered over and snatched them up. With a shove of all her might, and the man on unsteady feet from the wound, she pushed him to the floor. Her arms swung over, using the shackles to latch his hands together.

Katniss pushed herself up with her fist, chest heaving from the fight. Her ebony hair was unruly and her cheeks were tinted pink from the blood pulsing beneath. Her eyes were wild and animalistic. While she was triumphant, the commoner was defeated. Blood still oozed readily from the thin slice in his shoulder, but his eyes remained filled to the brim with distaste and hatred.

"Now-," she spoke between gasps, trying to catch her breath. "You are now my prisoner. You do what I say. I am your mistress, and you will not deny my demands."

He nodded weakly, and Katniss new she'd have to fix up that wound soon. "What's your name anyways?"  
"What's yours?" He hadn't lost his defiance.

"K-Katniss," It felt odd saying her own name aloud.

"Cato."

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**Author's Note:** Ta-da! I worked pretty hard on this, so you'd better enjoy it. Favorite, follow, and review! ^^


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: **Oh, dear god. I'm sorry for not updating Artemisia in a while, but I update when I feel like it. If I don't feel like it, then it turns out forced and crappy. So, here it is: Chapter Three of Artemisia.

She lay on her scratchy bed sheets, eyes closed, voice silent. But her mind was up and running.

The claw-scratch of a moon was high above their heads. The fight between her and the man, now lying in chains on the floor, seemed to take days. But it was less than an hour. Katniss opened her grey eyes. The beaming moonlight bounced off of her skin, giving her face an eerie glow.

"Don't even pretend that you aren't awake," Cato murmured, his voice husky.

Katniss was hushed by his words. When he wasn't criticizing her, his voice was quite-

_No!_ she internally screeched at herself. _Don't think like that. Think stuff like…. He wants you to die…. Yeah..._

When she was silent for several awkward moments, he spoke again. "You there?"

The young woman's blinked as she was drawn away from her train of thought. "Oh-erm. Yeah, just thinking."

Her right arm stretched up towards the ceiling, her index finger tracing the swirled markings in the wood from afar. Katniss soon began to hum a tune she would have normally assumed to be lost in her memories. Eventually her lips began to move, and she whispered the song lyrics.

"Mother of darkness, daughter of light. Earth beneath us, soul in flight…."

She was silent for a few moments, then continued.

"Songs of love and love of life. Guide us to our hearts…"

Katniss continued her song until the end. By the time she was done, her words were slurred. The young woman's eyes closed as her mind drifted into a state of dreamy, ignorant bliss.

_Cato's Point of View~_

His harsh thoughts about her were washed away into oblivion when he heard her sing. Katniss was so quiet; he could barely hear it. Just the innocence of her voice tugged at his heart, making him want to forgive her for everything she's done.

But the thought made him tremble with fear. What if she wasn't actually doing anything evil?

_No. Just turning away from the face of God is the worst thing you can do, _he thought. But wait… If it was so terrible, why did he insert the word 'just' in his thought train? Cato shook the thought away. It terrified him to think that all his life, everything his closest family and friends ever told him, everything that guided him through his childhood and still-blooming adulthood, is it all wrong?

**Author's Note: **Please forgive me. This one's a shorty. X3

THANK, THANK, THANK YOU to my reviewers! Not only do I love hearing compliments (wink), but it's heart-warming for you guys to be keeping an open mind regarding the plot. You are all awesome-sauce. 3


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